Archive for the ‘Music Equipment’ Category

Thoomp

November 1, 2008 by john No Comments »

My friend – and fellow 1 Upper – Jon Hyde was kind enough to loan me his Danelectro baritone guitar for a few weeks. It’s really a lot of fun, and I already have decided I want to use it for some of our gigs. The instrument makes a lovely grind when distorted, and I’m using it to play some of the tic-tac bass lines that are so prevalent in this style. As a solo instrument, I need to do some patch programming to really get usable sounds together. Perhaps next week I’ll be able to get some work done on this.

 

Grumpy Tube Rant

October 22, 2008 by john 2 Comments »

During the paleolithic period, primitive man made tools out of stone and everything “electronic” used vacuum tubes. We’re talking all those ancient computers, televisions, radios, audio amplifiers, spacecraft and so on. Vacuum tubes were everywhere and you could find a tube tester in pretty much every grocery store, along with a stock of tubes in case you needed a replacement. Most importantly to guitarists, vacuum tubes were the lifeblood of guitar amps, delivering amazing tone and the occasional burned fingertip. Noble, savage, paleolithic rockers reveled in the awesomeness of tube tone, crafting epic rock anthems to commemorate successful mammoth hunts and the discovery of fire. Thousands of years later, a competing tribe of lab-dwellers invented the practical-yet-soulless transistor and lots of guitar amps went over to the solid state dark side. Many purists feel you just can’t get great guitar tone without tubes. Not that I have a strong opinion on it. I’m just saying…

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Tapping Instrument Search

October 20, 2008 by john No Comments »

It’s been well over a year and I still haven’t landed a good tapping instrument. My top choices would either be a newish Chapman Stick (with the adjustable tailpiece) or a Warr Guitar. I’ve played a Warr Guitar on and off lately, and it’s fabulous. I can’t seem to get the owner to part with it and I’m continuing to explore some alternatives. The design of those two instruments is particularly attractive to me. The Stick has a classic streamlined appearance and I love its minimal design. And the Warr Guitar is simply stunning with its exotic woods. Since I’m planning to approach the instrument as an ultrawide bass+guitar, I want to string it from low to high – unlike the common Stick approach with the bass strings inverted. As a bassist I want the lower register arranged in perfect fourths, and as a guitarist I want the upper register tuned as the top five strings of a guitar. The part of the equation I haven’t settled on is the interval between the two groups. I’d be willing to try a continuous tuning from low to high, and also willing to try two groups separated by a wider interval to minimize the likelihood of hands colliding.

My playing involves tapping and cross-fingering on both bass and guitar, although I also play both instruments in a more conventional approach as well. So the tapping instrument would provide a good wide-range platform for those instances when I really want to cover more ground or generate those percussive tones. If anyone has a spare Stick or Warr Guitar they’d like to part with…

 

In-Ear Monitors

October 13, 2008 by john No Comments »

Over the course of the past few weeks I’ve been playing a lot of shows with various bands. Maybe it’s my recent birthday, but lately I’ve been especially aware of the overall stage volume and the need to have better monitors. And so I have put some effort into ensuring the best balance of what I need to hear and NOT hear onstage. My two main goals for live performance are:
(1) Block out some of the extraneous noise. Between the drums, amps, stage monitors, and general cacophony of the stage, it can get pretty loud up there. Constant exposure to that level of volume is bad for hearing. Turning down amps and monitors is a good idea in general (your soundman will thank you), but it’s difficult to “turn down” the drum set.
(2) Isolate my instrument and vocals without having to turn them up. It’s helpful for guitar and  crucial when playing fretless bass since I am still developing my technique and don’t yet have “perfect touch” for intonation.

Most professionals address these requirements by using “in ear” monitors, essentially the same as using earbuds to listen to an iPod. The systems involved can be expensive and present some additional logistic challenges. I’ve recently purchased a new wireless in-ear monitor system and will be implementing it as part of my live setup. My system came with a fairly decent set of generic earbud drivers. The best solution would involve custom-molded ear pieces that exactly fit the unique contours of the listener’s ears. I have a pair of Westone earplugs that were custom molded to my ears, and they’re great for helping to protect my hearing. Eventually I’ll probably get a similar set molded to house audio drivers. In the mean time, I’m going to be hearing myself much better and hopefully, protecting my hearing in the process.

 

80s Invasion – Private Party

October 3, 2008 by john No Comments »

Last night 80s Invasion played a private event for a local company. It was a bit of late night, which is resulting in a tired Friday, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. The company throwing the party was subdued, and it they really didn’t dance until the second set kicked in. Our performance was really solid, and I think the music was perhaps the best we’ve played it. I found myself trying to get a balance between my guitar level and the monitors throughout the night. Part of the issue was the “live” room, but this is an issue I’ve been exploring solutions for. I think I’ve decided to go ahead and order an in-ear monitor system. It should help protect my hearing and provide a controllable means of getting a consistent monitor solution for my instrument and vocals.

I’m looking forward to the show tonight. We’ll be playing at the High Dive in Fremont, so come on out and say hello!

 

Gig Preparation : Line6 Wish List

September 29, 2008 by john No Comments »

This week I have two shows with 80s Invasion, and next week I have one with the Preons. In addition to practicing my guitar parts for the former, and bass parts for the latter, I have been planning my between-song (and sometimes in-song) patch changes on the PodXTLive. For general patch setup I like the Line6 Edit software tool, but it’s missing a few crucial bits of functionality.

  1. Cross-patch volume leveling. It should be possible to select a group of patches and have the software correctly identify the highest possible signal-to-noise output ratio, then apply that predicted output as the norm across the selected patches. The big benefit would be that patches would be similar in output level, and you could then apply adjustments to individual patches as necessary.
  2. The software interface should have more customizable windows. There is a tiny text field on the editor interface which isn’t resizable, and there is no way to change the font face or size. That aspect of the editor window should be capable of acting as a note-taking area. In addition, each sub-element within the editing window should be resizable / draggable.
  3. All patches and banks within the editor system should have customizable tags for easy classification and storage. The simplest use would be for note-taking when programming patches. But it would also be handy for putting additional data into banks for sets/bands.
  4. The PodXT should have the ability to save and retrieve patches and banks directly viaUSB memory stick without needing a computer to run the software. I don’t want to haul my laptop to every gig. But I do want a safety net.

I am looking forward to these gigs and hope to see some familiar faces at them.

 

Dredging Up Ancient Treasure

August 13, 2008 by john 3 Comments »

I spent part of today looking for a piece of musical equipment in my music room, which turned into an archaeological project. Naturally, in the bottom box, at the back of the closet, next the lost Ark of the Covenant, was the musical gizmo I needed. I really should put some gear on ebay and make space in that room.

The good news is that after many years of being forgot in the pit of random emplacement, the device in question still functions perfectly. Must be the magical properties of the Ark keeping the batteries fresh.

 

Thoughts On The 80s Invasion Gig 7/31/2008

August 1, 2008 by john No Comments »

It’s been over a month since 80s Invasion played, and I was delighted to have this one on the books. We played at the annual Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center summer party. Just being around such wonderful people is inspiring, and the campus is beautiful. Playing outdoors is always a little dicey in the Northwest… at one point it looked as though it would rain on the uncovered stage. And then the sun came out it was hot. And then the clouds came back. And finally, it did pour rain. Fortunately we were packed up by then.

We played really well. The level of musicianship in this band is very high, and it makes for a great time playing together. This was also the 80s Invasion first gig where I used my new Hot Rod Deluxe amp, which is turning out be a great part of my sound. The night before this gig I used the amp onstage for the first time, playing with The 1 Uppers. I’m impressed with the output and tone of the amp, and it make my setup time a bit shorter than with the Mesa/Boogie cabinets.

The next 80s Invasion gig is in a few weeks. I’m hoping we’ll find a night to practice up some new material and do a bit of polishing. We could really make this band into something amazing.

 

Intonation On Guitars – Is It Really In Tune?

July 23, 2008 by john 2 Comments »

As guitarists and bassists develop better technique, we often discover there seem to be tuning inconsistencies with our instruments that can’t be addressed by plugging into a tuner. Over the years that I’ve played, I have discovered that there is an inherent problem with all of my instruments in a certain portion of the fretboard range. In the process of trying to understand the problem space, I had to do a little math and physics. See? Beneath its firebreathing veneer of rebellion and self-expressive freedom, rock and roll is actually science! And all this time we thought we were being so anti-establishment. Well, at least we can say we’re putting our science to work.

Let’s start at the beginning of the problem with “this thing isn’t in tune”… these issues need to be fully addressed before we can derive any benefit from discussion on microtuning.

Tuning Issues
If you find your guitar or bass won’t play in tune, there are several things worth examining.

  1. First of all, make sure your strings are relatively new (less than one month old). Old strings, especially if they’re really dull looking and cruddy, will not properly stay in tune. If in doubt replace them and allow the new ones to stretch a bit before proceeding.
  2. How is the neck relief? Sight down the guitar fretboard, looking from the bridge to the nut. If you see an obvious bow / curve / twist in the fretboard, you need to adjust the neck relief. You should also be able detect any serious fret problems this way (see #4 below). Adjusting the neck relief isn’t terribly difficult, but if you aren’t experienced in making this adjustment I’d suggest you have a luthier show you how it’s done. The key here is to make SMALL adjustments; no more than 1/4 turn of the adjustment nut at a time. Warning: overtightening can break the truss rod, and this is the very definition of the word “bummer”.
  3. Your tuning issues might be due to improper string action. Check the height of the string above the fretboard. If there is too much distance from the string to the top of the fret, there will be too much deflection when you fret (you’ll always be pulling the string sharp when fretting). This needs to be adjusted at both the bridge and at the nut. Adjusting the bridge is simple. Adjusting the nut slots is not. I recommend you have a luthier handle any nut adjustments.
  4. It could also be your frets. If the frets are improperly crowned you’ll find tuning isn’t consistent on fretted notes. Sight down the fretboard and take notice of any unusual frets. If you see deep ruts in the frets or they seem really tall, flat, or radically different from each other, it might be time to ask a good luthier for an assessment.

So if you’ve checked all these things and carefully tuned the open strings with a good tuner, only to find your guitar or bass still doesn’t seem in tune when you’re playing, it might be time to check your intonation.

Read the rest of this post for more information… read more…

 

The 1Uppers Ride Again

July 1, 2008 by john No Comments »

Last night we assembled The 1Uppers for a (nearly) full-band rehearsal… we were missing one guitarist, so I got to hold down the fort with my trusty Telecaster. Man, that’s a great guitar. I had a blast working on those songs with the band, and we’re starting to sound pretty dang good. Jon Hyde is positively slaying the pedal steel parts on these songs. He seems to have an endless supply of interesting licks. I’m going to need to do a lot of practicing to keep up!

I need to buy a combo amp for these kinds of gigs, and I’ve decided to look around for a used Fender Twin or perhaps a Hot Rod Deluxe. Either amp would be great for general use. I just can’t show up for 1Uppers gigs with my rack setup. It just doesn’t seem right… 🙂

The Tele sounds surprisingly warm and is really comfortable to play on these songs. Part of the joy of playing guitar is the feel of the instrument, and this guitar has a lot of goodness.